Is it time for DC to tone down on the big 2?

MatthewMatthew Registered User regular
edited May 2009 in Graphic Violence
Most of this is my opinion, just want to let you guys know that before the pitch forks come out.

Am I alone in thinking it's time for DC to pull back the World's finest team a bit?
By big three, I, of course, refer to Superman, and Batman.

Sometimes it seems to me that DC are actually incapable of looking past these 3. Sure they are legendary iconic characters who the entire comics industry owes a great debt to, but enough is enough! Do Batman and Superman really need all these books devoted to their adventures? Wonder woman only has one, true, but she is still treated by the brass as the be-all, and end-all of female superheroing.

DC seems trapped in their "legacy" which these 2 personify mostly. Batman has turned from the "worlds greatest detective" to a genius greater than Einstein, and who logic is so impeccable, and accurate that everything he does, from track down villains, to using the toilet is treated with god like respect. Superman seems to have lapsed into his Pre-Crisis problems again (And I mean Crisis on Infinite earths, when I say Pre-crisis), where he is just too powerful for description (and all powerful characters are rarely good in the position of a books main star).

Bats and Supes are often trotted out in other books, and their characterization seems to change with each appearance (Especially Bats, there are days when I wish I could go back in time and convinced Frank Miller that his Dark Knight Returns series is a bad idea and would never sell, though I did, in fact like that series).

In my mind, I would cut Batman down to two books (Detective comics, for legacy's sake, and Batman), with one writer, but different artists, same with Superman (Action comics, once again, legacy, and Superman).

Make no mistake, they (along with Wonder Woman) will always be at DC's center, but the concentration on them seems to make other books suffer, as DC's heart is with these 2.

The enw summer crossover, "The Blackest Night" seems to do this a bit, as this seems to be the first major crossover in years where Bats and Supes aren't really at the center of (That will more than likely go to the GLC, and Hal Jordan, but that's a post for another time), so it may be interesting to see.

Once again, my opinion, please don't kill me.

Matthew on

Posts

  • wwtMaskwwtMask Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Retiring flagship characters when people clearly still want to read about them isn't a very smart thing to do, at least in the long term. You're not going to see Spidey shelved anymore than you'll see Superman killed off or retired. The only place you'll see that sort of thing is out of continuity books like Kingdom Come.

    On a personal note, I'm not tired of Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman. But then again, I don't consume much DC material, so I don't know what's good or bad characterization for them, nor am I overloaded with their appearances.

    wwtMask on
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  • Robos A Go GoRobos A Go Go Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    It's not a big deal so long as books about characters are still available. Besides, Superman's only in one book now and Batman's dead.

    Robos A Go Go on
  • sportzboytjwsportzboytjw squeeeeeezzeeee some more tax breaks outRegistered User regular
    edited May 2009
    A lot of stories seem to end up being lame because it's like, "Man, Supes could clean this mess up in just a few minutes," or "Bats would have figured this out a LONG time ago."

    This tends to happen when you're talkign about the two characters that have supported 4 titles each at some point or another in DC's history, and continue to sell comics.

    I do like that Johns has been amping up virtually every non-bat/super character in the DC Universe, mostly doing a great job of it.

    sportzboytjw on
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  • TexiKenTexiKen Dammit! That fish really got me!Registered User regular
    edited May 2009
    They've pretty much done what you asked for, limiting each character to only 2 books each (I don't count Batman confidential or Supermna/Batman as they are now flashback series). And New Krypton is a maxi series.

    It's not their fault people can't write them well in other series. McDuffie really doesn't know what to do with Superman when he writes him, and some writers think Bat-dickery is still in full force when it hasn't been Post IC.

    TexiKen on
  • Unco-ordinatedUnco-ordinated NZRegistered User regular
    edited May 2009
    Superman and Batman are consistantly DC's biggest sellers and Batman just had a movie that earned $1 billion+, clearly it's time for DC to tone them both down...

    If this is a 'how to fix DC' thread then I'd suggest that they actually hire an Executive Editor that actually has a vision for the 'universe', rather than someone that changes shit on a whim.

    Unco-ordinated on
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